The BBC news is irking me again.
I can't recall the exact wording used, because it was more than a minute ago, and I have a brain like a sieve...indeed, it is a plastic bowl with holes in it, and smells vaguely of vegetables.
I feel like I'm being a bit of a pedant, but I have heard the same thing twice in two days now. Something along the lines of "A seven-year-old boy's efforts to raise money for Haiti earthquake victims have been recognised by none other than the Prime Minister."
It's the "none other than" bit. I understand that it has come to emphasise the reverence of an individual, but look at what it actually says. We, particularly the English, have to remain aware of how idioms can effect the English language.
I'm betting the kid's parents recognised his efforts. Unless they are the Prime Minister, I'm guessing they are someone other than the Prime Minister.
I now recognise his efforts, and I'm definitely someone other than the Prime Minister.
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Ha! Good one. I never noticed this before you mentioned it.
ReplyDeleteWe (the Dutchies) say "niemand minder dan..." which roughly translates as "none less than...", which doesn't make much sense either.
I think it's likely/reasonable that the same person or team is writing the BBC news scripts. Aside from this example which I've noticed a couple of times, there's another which I've not yet been bothered to comment on, and which I think I'm just about to: the referred absolute (which I might have just invented)(and which might be wrong :o) ).
ReplyDeleteI can't think of actual examples right now, so I'm going to invent some.
"The human race will be eradicated in 2012!"
(dramatic pause)
"...that's according to ancient Mayan scripts interpreted by historians."
"The World Trade Centre was destroyed by American secret services!"
(dramatic pause)
"...that's according to conspiracy theorists on the internet."
"Water contains mind altering drugs which allows Governments to control us!"
(dramatic pause)
"That's according to Doctors discredited due to diminished responsibility."
Again, it's the BBC leaning on sensationalism.
Creating headline news from supposition. It bothers me. Time and again, they'll remind the viewer how they are the world leader in international news reporting, then they stoop to this.